From Beginning till End
by sakura1289
Summary: Naruto gets banished from Konoha for bringing Sasuke back unconscious. Kakashi, Shizune and Tsunade come along. Ten years later a new villge has arisen; stronger, peace-loving and most of all... invisible. Shonen-ai Kakanaru
1. The Death of a Bond

**The death of a bond**

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**Please read from the very beginning, I'm rewritting all of my stories for the better. I want them to be more... intresting not so hasty and horribly written like I did before.**

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He stumbled towards the large, marble gate of Konoha: The Leaf sign could be seen miles away. Small dots could be seen in the distance, representing people waiting for them at the gate. He glanced up at Kakashi, grabbing the hem of his vest to keep him from falling. " Will they be alright?" Naruto asked earning a glance from Kakashi.

Kakashi smiled under his mask and putting his free arm around him, squeezing his shoulder lightly," They will be. You were all strong and brave fighting against the Sound Four head on and winning the battles with Suna's help."

Naruto smiled and glanced up at the unconscious Sasuke on Kakahi's back, his head lying on his shoulder. His glossy, raven hair covered up his shut eyes only showing a slightly parted mouth and a small, sharp nose.

A few hours ago, Sasuke had betrayed the village. Tsunade was going to send a jounin squad out but they were all busy, working alongside with chunin to build the building that were destroyed in the invasion, so there were only genin left to run after Sasuke to retrieve him. This turned out to be himself, Kiba along side with Akamaru, Neji, Chouji and Shikamaru, who was the only chunin free. They were all sent after Sasuke and the Sound Four; a strange group that all had the curse seals somewhere on their bodies.

Naruto once more looked up at Kakashi," Is it over?"

This time, Kakashi looked down at him properly an awkward smile hidden underneath his navy blue mask," Yes, it's over and done with."

"Good," Naruto whispered, smiling and staring at his feet hitting the dirty path in front of him over and over again.

They walked awhile in silence, listening to the wind rustling through the trees and the birds chirping together happily. They could hear voices in the distance coming from the gate: orders, shouts and normal chatting. Kakashi stared at the marble gates, eyeing each person standing by them.

_Danzou, Hokage-sama, Shizune-san and the two council members… what are they doing there, why are Danzou and the council members waiting for us?_ He could see Tsunade staring at them, their bodies slowly appearing in the distance, seriously. The council on the other hand was looking at them furiously, along with Danzou for an unknown reason.

When they arrived at the gates he could see their expressions clearly. Tsunade's weren't serious but scared and confused, yet the council was the same… furious.

Naruto stared at them, his eyes slowly shutting and fell to his knees weakly, wanting to sleep but he would never fall unconscious in front of the council. They were his enemy. Tsunade quickly rushed to him, kneeling down next to him, healing the large flesh injuries that covered his body, created by Sasuke.

There was a deep kunai stab on his right hip running down to his knee; bleeding horribly, a hole in his chest made by the chidori that Sasuke had aimed at his heart; has stopped bleeding because of the Kyuubi's chakra and he could feel it slowly closing, and a few minor cuts all over his body, also chakra exhaustion.

"He should be alright, only the injury by his chest will take a few days to heal, his leg will take half a day because of his unnatraual healing speed. He should rest at the hospital for four days and have daily Check-ups from either Shizune or me."

Behind them, the council and Danzou chuckled, making them turn around eyeing them suspiciously," Danzou-san, do you have something to tell me or would you like to talk about it later in my office?" questioned Tsunade.

A wide grin spread over his face," I'd like to do it right now, Tsunade-_sama_," his words were dripping from sarcasm. A heated glare was pierced at Tsunade.

"What is it what you wanted to tell me?" she replied seriously, her lips pressed together into a thin line, ignoring the glare. Danzou was acting to sarcastic, yes, he is always sarcastic but not like this, dangerous and lustful for something.

The man pointed at Sasuke, who lay on Kakashi's shoulder motionless," Uzumaki Naruto because you couldn't bring Uchiha Sasuke back alive, I will here by banish you from the village of Konoha."

Tsunade stared at the man as if he was insane," What are you talking about, the Uchiha is still alive and healthy, he's the one who is supposed to be the one banished for almost killing a fellow shinobi of Konoha!"

"Silence!" his voice boomed down the streets, scaring the civilians and children playing around. Danzou walked up to Naruto, pulled him up on his feet and ripped his forehead protector off," If your still here by sundown you shall be executed in front of the whole village." With this he threw the weak Naruto onto the ground and walked off.

"Wait, you can't do that, that's illegal you still have to ask for my permission!" yelled Tsunade, but Danzou only chuckled.

"Honestly, do you really think that you have the right to speak _Hokage-sama. _You cannot overpower us with your political power, we have been longer on the seat than you have, the only person that could overpower us was the Third," he looked back at the woman, who was almost shedding tears.

Tsunade looked down at Naruto sadly, who just nodded understandingly and slowly stood up. He would have fought if he wouldn't have been so injured, he would have destroyed the nearest object but he couldn't do that. They would just execute him now.

Tsunade just stared at him as if he was insane, why wasn't he fighting against their decision, why is he loosing hope?

Naruto then looked up at Shizune and Kakashi, and nodded, turning his back towards them, slowly stumbling towards his apartment for the council's delight.

Kakashi stared at the retrieving body of Naruto, walking quietly down the crowded streets," Danzou-sama."

The said man turned towards Kakashi," What is it Hatake-san, oh, I also have a promotion for you. Would you like to join the ANBU Roots but as exchange you must train Sasuke-san as an apprentice."

Kakashi stared at him with one eye," No, I reject the offer of joining the ANBU Root when the leader is the one that banished my student. No, I wish for you to take me of the Konoha Shinobi list."

The two council members looked at him as if he was insane," Hatake-san, you can't do that. You're our No.1 Shinobi here second to the Hokage!"

Kakashi turned to them, his hands slowly raising towards the back of his head, untying his headband and letting it fall onto the floor, he then spat onto the ground next to the headband," I no longer wish to be a Konoha shinobi or civilian, I no longer wish to be in Konoha at all."

Danzou just stared at him, as if he was insane," Hatake-san, you can't leave your our strongest like the council said, we cannot lose you."

Kakashi glared with at him with his Sharingan Eye," I sound like I'm a weapon that you can play with and I have no respect for a village that can't see the difference between an innocent boy and a murderous demon."

Shizune smiled after the man, who followed Naruto down the road, then looked at Tsunade questioning. Tsunade only looked at her with a grim expression covering her face but then suddenly a bright idea popped into her mind maybe only bright for her but not for the council and started smirking.

Danzou saw this and eyed her closely, saying," Tsunade-sama, have you got something to say?"

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, standing up from her kneeling position," Yes I do." Tsunade looked at Shizune apologizing, then back at Danzou," I, Tsunade no longer wish to be the Hokage of Konoha, I wish Jiraya to be the next Hokage and I no longer wish to be a Konoha Shinobi." She too, untied her headband from her shoulder, and the Hokage robe, throwing it onto the floor next to Kakashi's headband. Tsunade looked up at Shizune," Are you coming with me or are you staying here?"

Shizune looked back at Danzou and his little troop then at Tsunade and the retrieving bodies of Kakashi and Naruto... Why was she even chosing?! It is not like her family is here or anything, the only thing keeping her here in Konoha is Tsunade. Shizune smiled and ripped of her headband running to Kakashi and Naruto along with Tsunade.

Danzou and co. just stared at them dumb folded.

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Awhile later, Naruto was sitting on Kakashi's back sleeping soundly. It was late but there was still the sun in the sky, and Naruto did have chakra exhaustion.

Tsunade was carrying her own bag and Naruto's, Shizune her own and Kakashi's. They all changed their clothes.

Kakashi was wearing a pair of navy blue pants and oversized, making them look puffed up. A long, black coat which was hanging just above the ground, revealing the silver chest-plate he was wearing under it, a long red scarf was covering up his mouth and nose and an eye patch for his Sharingan Eye. He was carrying a sword on his left hip, its leather sheath plain but expensive, he had on leather sandals.

Shizune had tied her hair up into a high ponytail with Tsunade's help and was wearing a traditional miko dress with very loose sleeves. Her pouch was strapped around her waist and her senbon shooter hidden underneath her sleeves. A red ribbon covered her forehead and had leather sandals on, same ones as Kakashi.

Tsunade on the other hand was wearing a green kimono shirt with a cream coloured belt and tight brown pants. Her hair was tied together very lowly and the few strands, that were to short, were put together by a metal tube. She had red fingerless gloves on letting her white painted fingernail stand out. She was wearing knee length leather boots. Her twin kodachi she had since she was eight but never really used them, were strapped over her shoulders.

Naruto had on a black cape with a hood for now, so they could hide the 'kill-me' orange and his sunshine blond hair. They didn't want to stand out that much; they were after all Nuke-nins from now on. The group couldn't change his cloth because Naruto fell unconscious immediately after stepping into his apartment.

Right now, they were all jumping through the trees in the Fire Country at top speed. They were being followed by ANBU teams since they put a step out of the village.

Kakashi looked at his two wake companions," What do we do now, we can't go anywhere with them trailing us on our heels Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade growled lowly," Don't call me Tsunade-sama, makes me feel old and I am no longer your Leader, if you want to show respect then show it to Naruto and for the what-to-do part make something up, you're the Copy-nin here."

Kakashi growled, '_This was our Hokage, I wonder how I survived the past months with her…'_

Shizune giggled at their antics.

Naruto stirred on Kakashi's back and one eye popped open, scanning the flashing area around them," We're running away from them, aren't we?"

Kakashi only answered with a simple 'hm' and concentrating on the path before him, he didn't want to fall down with his student while he is still injured.

"Naruto-kun," the said boy turned towards Shizune with one eye closed," Do you have an idea on how to lose our followers?"

Naruto raised his eyebrows," Have you guys ever though about knocking them out or actually fighting against them?"

"Of course we have but they have to be very strong for the council to send them after us, I am, or better said was the Hokage after all!" yelled Tsunade.

"And what is a Hokage?" he asked them, getting stares from each person.

"Idiot, since when did you become so dumb! A Hokage is the… strongest person in the village! Naruto that's a great idea from you, I would have never come up with that!" exclaimed Tsunade, Naruto only shaking his head out of her stupidity," I was the Hokage but that doesn't mean I am weaker now, since I left the village."

"That is what you get when you are like a son to an Academy Teacher," Naruto mumbled to himself," You will be expected to know these things."

Kakashi snickered at that comment, earning a glance from Naruto, but then he turned his attention to the two ladies," What are you going to do baa-chan?"

Tsunade looked at him," Like you said, fight them but we'll have to hide you. You're in no condition to fight ANBU much less the strongest ANBUs."

Naruto only nodded understandingly, no complaining to be heard," Let's not hope they have a Hyuga or an Inuzuka with them."

Shizune tensed, Naruto was right, if they did have a Hyuga or Inuzuka with them they could easily find Naruto's hiding spot except if...

"Naruto-kun, you could create a couple of Kage Bunshin and put them into pairs. One of each pair would turn into Kakashi-san, while the real Kakashi stays here, the fake pairs and with you and your partner could go running off. You could hide somewhere nearby so we can find you later," she said, getting the attention from all of them," When Hyugas use their Byakura they'll only see the same chakra pathways and Inuzukas will only smell the same sent because Kage Bunshin are a replica of one, not an illusion."

"Now I know why I made you my apprentice Shizune, you're just the best," said Tsunade, patting Sizune on the back," Naruto do you have enough chakra to do this?"

The boy nodded and made his favorite hand seals," Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" about 50 replicas appeared in the small meadow they were standing in, every second one looked like Kakashi," You guys know what to do, leave."

A second later, only the real Kakashi, Tsunade and Shizune stood in the clearing, waiting for the ANBUs arrival. Soon they heard hushed whispers surrounding them and then the slowly one by one, an ANBU appeared out of every corner.

"Well, who do we have here," Kakashi smirked," Squad 8 and Squad 10."

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**Hope you liked it, tell me what errors I make and I'll try to better them. I don't want you to think my stories are one of the badly written ones.**


	2. Storm

**I just wanted to thank Imperial Mint for betaing another chapter of one of my stories. If she wouldn't have done so, the whole chapter would have been packed with errors from top to bottom (I swear it was).**

**Please send me lots of reviews, I love reading predictions although I will not answer any question which would spoil the plot. Enjoy.**

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**Storm**

"_The only safe ship in a __**storm**__ is leadership.__"_

"Ouch!" Shizune screeched as she held her throbbing index finger which had just been burnt, and then turned to scowl at the camp fire. Her three other companions watched her with humored expressions covering their clammy faces.

It was terribly hard to believe that it had been only three days since their defection, and it was even harder to imagine that they- not including Naruto- had slaughtered their own friends mercilessly, at least those who had come after them, only two and a half days ago. This was never going to become one of their fondest memories, but nothing could be done about it and they knew it.

After their fight, they had come across millions, no, billions of Naruto's- much to their annoyance- but it turned out that all had been fake after Tsunade tested, or rather smacked, them right in their faces with her fearsome fist, as they had dubbed it.

Eventually, a few hours later, they came across the real Naruto while fleeing into a nearby cave for the protection of the tennis ball sized hail. Was it even possible for hail to be so large? Much to their amusement, Naruto was battling to squeeze out of a hole, a small slit in the rough stone wall inside the cave.

Note to everyone: expect Naruto to be found in the most ridiculous places on earth.

It was just large enough to fit a nine year old child inside, but, because of Naruto's small body structure for his age, he fitted in perfectly; through the way out was another matter.

After they had finally freed him, they settled down for the night, but as soon as the first rays of the sun began to illuminate the forest, they carried on sprinting along the Wind country's border towards west.

Having the Hokage, or former Hokage, on their side was a fortunate but also unfortunate occurrence.

The unfortunate part was that everyone knew her appearance, skills and her favor for gambling. A very bad point, through the fortunate part was that she had access to every room in Konoha, and most of them were packed of with useful information, such as the geography of the lands.

None of the information would deem helpful for where they were heading too, though. A river flowed right along the western borders of the Earth and Wind County and also past numerous of smaller countries.

They were going across to the other side of that _river_. To the Taboo Lands, a name which literally described everything you needed to know about them.

Still, the name sounded a bit corny even through it still gave Naruto a frosty shiver every time it was mentioned or even thought of. He really hated anything to do with mysteries, scary stories, legends or any kind of similar blabber; take ghosts as an example.

But it was their only choice, they were safe there; no need to fear Hunter-nin or other shinobi tracking them down and trying to kill them as long as they were on the other side of that river.

No need to feel guilty if anyone got injured by shinobi because of him. He desperately tried not to mention the other things that might happen to them after they had crossed the river.

The river was named Inju, in other words Ribbon. It was named so because it joined the two oceans on the opposite hemispheres. It also had a nickname; Ikinone Kyuuban. Not the shortest nickname ever seen but hey, the name was a warning to all those idiots who even dared crossing the river which he had to admit… was they, themselves. Ikinone Kyuuban meant Lifesucker, and the name frightened the living hell out of him.

_Why didn't anyone name it Kyuuketsuki (1), easier to remember than the other name?_

There was this legend of a brave man- let's call him Bob. It had happened millions of years ago but the tragic story was still the most famous legend in the universe.

The man had also crossed the river, like them, to seek out a new place to build a settlement. His village was in war with one of their rival villages, he wanted to find a place on earth where no war would break out and slaughter millions of innocent men, women and children. He arrived on the other side of the mile wide river, yes, and reappeared safely after a few days of searching.

But was he never able to return home.

Crossing the river from our side to the _that_ side had been successful; the expedition of finding empty plains, great for building houses had also been successful but returning from _that _side to our side was another problem.

It was said that, as soon as he stepped back onto the water, whirlpools which had the strength of all of the nine Bijuus put together started emerging abruptly out of nowhere, all circling around Bob until the strongest of them all pulled Bob down into the deepness.

A year later, after the war had ended his wife wanted to take a stroll outside, or grocery shopping, Naruto didn't remember. It was the anniversary of Bob's death and as much to her unsought shock; she found her husband's lifeless body.

The legend had said that Bob's skin was rotten green, green as the seaweed swaying in the ponds, while his nails had all turned black, although this only counted to the nails that were still existed. The large hole in his chest where his heart had once been was still bleeding, for some unknown reason, and his eyes gouged out, as if someone had chewed them out.

Now they were taking the same risk, luckily, though though, they weren't going to return to our side, but still, they were crossing the river while breathing and their heart's pumping at full rate at risk of being pulled into the bottomless river alive, Naruto shuddered at that thought.

He was never going to forgive himself if Tsunade, Shizune or Kakashi was killed by this action.

Alright, change of subject everyone.

The river ran right next to the Wind Country's and Earth Country's border, connecting the two large oceans that were on the opposite of each other on the earth. The southern ocean called Enyou while the northern was Enkai. Both oceans were habitats of mystic underwater creature, such as sea lions and sharks.

Officially, the Ikinone Kyuuban was the largest river in the universe, but also feared for its powerful currents that could sweep the strongest creature - not counting the Bijuu - to the other side of the earth; a human could never survive such strength.

But there was another legend- much to his distress - or rather myth about it which everyone feared, from young and hot chicks to ancient grannies with the wrinkly skin and freaky white hair.

It was said that the offspring of the Kraken resided peacefully within the depths of the river's shadows and were waiting patiently for millions of years for a human to cross the river. In in the mean time they would feed on fish and other creatures that would stream by their nest.

Luckily, the myth said that they would only wake up once every month. If the day of their crossing was that time of the month then they were just damn unlucky.

And if it happened, it was probably 'cause of Tsunade and her impressive gambling skills.

The stronger the offspring were, the more tentacles they had; eight was the largest number and two was the smallest. Most of the younger ones had three tentacles. Even through the younger had less tentacles, their sharp, double edged set of teeth, all lined up in three rows behind one another, was usually the most dangerous thing.

Another one of the alarming things was that it was impossible that a handicapped newborn was delivered into the world. It was either dead or alive, no exceptions. Also throughout their eternal lives, they still would never be handicapped Kraken offspring.

Yeah, it was preposterous wasn't it? The Kraken and the offspring sounded so lethal, so perfect, and yet the perfection quote was one of the most famous morals in the world of humans. But then again, those octopuses weren't human or animals either. Just monsters.

Tsunade had scowled at them and had bestowed a large bump on his head, which had throbbed for quite a while for becoming to superstitious but there had always been a bitter tension under her edgy voice.

Naruto wasn't worrying about this right now through, only thinking about it because he had nothing better to do other than watch the landscape finally change.

The seemingly endless rows of similar looking trees that had surrounded them form which felt like days even through it had only been a couple of hours were finally lessening and their invisible path was slowly starting to illuminate through the thinning leaves.

In the distance, he spotted blotches of dark brown sand, due to the rain that had poured down for the past hours but had now stopped, which was surrounded by short and brittle grass blades.

The rain was supposed to have hit them but thanks to the meter thick layers of different sized leaf had sheltered them from it. It was like standing under an umbrella of some sort.

A branch snapped under Kakashi's multiplied weight but he quickly caught himself, spinning around in the air and landed on a lower branch with Naruto on his back.

Not the nicest experience to witness.

Yes, Naruto was annoyed. Full blast. Who wouldn't be if their granny made them piggyback-ride someone due to the injury on their leg? An injury which had already healed hours ago or at least he though so...

Couldn't Kyuubi just tell him?

"**Zzz."**

God, that beast was taking a nap again.

Naruto glared at Tsunade's back. Stupid woman and her irritating Hokage, through he like to call it the _it_ mode, something which shouldn't be existing anymore.

He huffed, but then pouted at the thought earning a baffled glance from Kakashi. "Baa-chan, I can walk myself now, look," he whined, and shook his supposed to be injured leg freely. "Everything perfectly healed now."

Naruto gritted his teeth as he saw Tsunade search through numerous pockets and pulling out a pair of funny looking stick, which turned out to be earplugs, then stuffing them into her ears, completely ignoring his noisy complain.

Tsunade was annoyed. Always a bad sign, except for those who had a death wish.

"When are we going to stop, Shizune-neechan?" Shizune rolled her eyes in annoyance and then glanced at Tsunade, begging with her droopy eyes.

Tsunade frowned and passed her another pair of earplugs which Shizune caught without strain, and then hastily stuffed them into her ear holes before she heard anymore of his complaints.

Naruto glared at the younger woman's back. Shizune was acting rotten, nothing unusual.

He faced his carrier and frowned, what reason did he have to annoy this man? Probably none, and why would he want to leave Kakashi's super warm back if he was so darn tired and his arms were going to snap like a twig soon due to this chilly temperature.

Naruto buried his face into the man's neck, trying to receive a little more body heat than he was already receiving, and carefully wrapped the end of one side of the red scarf around his own neck with his trembling arm. He quivered.

Obviously, Kakashi sensed him quiver and eyed him concerned. "Stop," he said, the whole team stopping abruptly on the branch they had just landed on and then leapt onto the round, landing with a hushed thump onto the dry grass.

"What is it?" Tsunade glanced at him but then quickly faced Kakashi and removed her earplugs.

Kakashi ignored her and placed Naruto onto a dry spot of grass, allowing him to lean on the tree.

The sudden fierce blow of wind rushed across the decreasing forest, sending shivers down his back. Naruto raised his legs and laid his chin in between them, his arms hugging them tightly.

He wasn't the only one who reacted like this.

Shizune crossed her arms and rubbed them together, a clear shiver running down her back. "Should have worn something warmer," she mumbled to herself, looking down at the remains of her miko, "And something more long-lasting."

They didn't come out of the battle unharmed, well their bodies had except for a few harmless scratches, but their clothes didn't all make it through the bloody fight.

"Tsunade can I have my bag?," Kakashi said, and took his massive rucksack that was handed to him. He opened it, searching for a few moments before pulling out a blanket. He held it out in front of himself and scanned it, seeming to ponder on something.

The blanket could cover a medium sized adult completely. It was made out of sheep's wool- he had read the small slip in the corner- and was orange, Naruto's favorite colour.

Naruto felt the blanket being wrapped around him and the warmth immediately spread throughout his body, but still had to try and suppress another shiver by the sudden change of temperature.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei," he mumbled, a blush creeping onto his cheeks through embarrassment and he snuggled himself deeper into the soft blanket, which was warding of the unwanted chilly breezes blowing through the trees.

Kakashi sent him a crooked smile even though Naruto couldn't really see it due to the dark blue fabric covering half of his sensei's face and sent a one dimpled grin in return, Naruto's eyes squinted together in joy.

"No need to call me sensei anymore, we're no longer inhabitants of Konoha so we have no need to participate with those silly laws," his rough voice brought the short hairs at the nape of Naruto's neck up, he had never noticed how portentously horrific his voice was.

Naruto hesitated, small creases rippling up onto his forehead where the Konoha headband no longer resided. He pulled the orange blanket tighter around himself and opened his mouth before shutting it again.

"Something wrong?" Of course Tsunade had to notice, she noticed everything and everyone - sadly.

He bit his lower lip gently. "Well, uhm, how about I don't call you by your first names?"

The expression of hurt in three different forms crossed three different faces. Kakashi's became eyes became restless while his body was the complete opposite, stiff as a statue; his eyebrow was crunched up, creating small creases. Tsunade's lips were strung into a thin line whilst her honey brown eyes glared fiercely at him. Shizune's posture was more vulnerable, her eyes watching him in worry.

"What the hell are you saying, brat? That we shouldn't stay together?!" Tsunade hissed through her teeth and her fist ready to aim a few merciless punches.

Naruto held up his hand in defense and waved it violently. "No, no I never said anything like that!" He paused until he saw Tsunade's body language relax a little. "As I was saying, how about we all call each other by our first names? It's fair then."

Suddenly, he was attacked by warm and muscular arms also something soft pressing down onto his head. First he thought it was Kakashi but as soon as he turned his head upwards to look at the face he was greeted by a pair of enormous bumps squishing his poor, innocent skull. Naruto's blood quickly rushed to his face, turning into a tomato.

He was being squished by Tsunade's breasts, a situation he wouldn't want to be in again any time soon.

A mischief grin arose on Shizune's usually serious or stressed face as she watched Naruto struggle out of the arms of Tsunade. Oh, how she was going to tease him about this for the rest of his miserable life. She snickered as soundlessly as possible behind her hand, sending Kakashi meaningful glances.

Kakashi bit back a laughter himself, and nodded in response to Shizune's questioning glances. He crossed his arms and shook his head in dismay. Gosh, how come he wasn't as lucky as Naruto and had women running after him? Could they at least hug him so tightly that their oh-so-soft bosom was squished against his stone hard chest? He drooled over that thought but quickly wiped any of the salvia away and eyed Shizune wearily; checking if she noticed him drool, but then he remembered he was wearing is life-saving mask. At least it was a use for something.

He chuckled awkwardly.

The ladies, and maybe also Naruto too, would totally kill him for thinking of such things, but hey, he did read the infamous series of Icha Icha Paradise day in and day out so how could he not think of such things?

A blush flashed across his cheek but soon his head became as red as the lone rose bush next to them as his thoughts became a little more graphic and detailed; through he tried to think of other things.

Tsunade had now noticed what it was that had made Naruto so uncomfortable and bestowed him with a nice bump on his head. "It wasn't my fault, Naruto is too short for his own good," she said, embarrassed, but Kakashi and Shizune just waved her off, angering her even more.

Tsunade began to bicker with Kakashi and, as soon as they were done, the team was good to go again. Naruto had finally gotten his wish and was allowed to run by himself, everyone got their own respective rucksacks back and they started to sprint again, this time on the ground because the trees were becoming so thin and wrinkly that it was the same to just fall of them.

Another few hours later, they halted a few miles away from a small isolated town, standing behind a pair of ancient trees, rather outstanding from the rest. Their size was enormous, just plain enormous, not only in length but also in width. Thick as in, a group of twenty men could hide behind any one of those two trees and talk in their normal voices without having the worry of being heard by the people who were on the other side, thick. The leaves weren't much different to the trunk and small, and fragile blue flowers bloomed in between the largeness.

"We should transform," said Kakashi, studying the massive tree in interest and knocked on the bark with his gently, a soft echo returning to him. "The tree is hollow!"

Tsunade looked up and whistled impressed. "What a big buddy we have here, don't we?" she pushed herself of the ground and landed on one of the lower branches growing out of the main body. "And it's stable."

"Didn't Kakashi just tell us the tree was hollow!?" screeched Shizune, cupping her face which had the expression of horror written all over it. "Get down from there now!"

The gust of wind blew past them, the leaves rustling as if whispering to each other about their secrets in hushed voices, speaking so quietly so no unwanted visitor could overhear them.

Naruto inhaled deeply and look past the two trees, admiring the undisturbed scenery, taking in every little detail his extra sharp eyes could catch.

The cloudless sky was poured with vivid golden, all melting into to a centre point, the sun which was comfortably lowering itself into the distant forest. The higher he looked up, the darker the golden glow became, and until until the very last the sky was a rich crimson. Beyond the crimson was a hint of a frosty blue, emerging from the horizon.

The grass was no longer crispy and millimeter short, but now reached Tsunade's knees and were was filled with lavender of many sizes, the fresh green was illuminated with a tint of orange and the ground was curving downwards, forming a decent hill, into a crater.

At the right bottom of the large crater stood the isolated town, protected by a stone wall. The houses were rowed evenly and always stood in packs of three, only one house - which was larger than the rest - stood proudly in the centre of the labyrinth, was alone.

The only way to enter the town was through the North or South Gate, currently they were at southeast of the town. They would probably arrive there in half an hour if they ran using chakra but they wanted to look like civilians so there wasn't as much attention set on them.

Only a small corner of the sun was left, the sky darkening and then it disappeared completely, the golden paint was varnished with streaks of navy blue, the gold dimming under the intense colour.

Naruto lowered his lids until they were secured tightly, seeing only darkness. The air was filled with the aroma of the lavender sprouting between the long grass strands.

"Henge," Naruto's head swung around just in time to see Tsunade, Shizune and Kakashi transform into a whole new person, if he would have turned around only a second later he wouldn't have thought that this was them.

How easy it was to become someone else other than yourself, how easy it was to manipulate others by a fake personality. What has this world become?

Tsunade was taller than before, and had fewer busts. Obviously she understood what 'keeping it down' meant. Her blond hair was now honey brown, the same as her real eyes which were now a fascinating hazel. The dark rings from the constant strain of exhaustion under her eyes hadn't disappeared during the transformation.

Her body was slender but it was hidden under a layer of clothing. She wore a leather tunic, square shaped and a circular cut so her curves and her bosom were hidden underneath the thick fabric. The tunic reached her mid-thigh. She had a belt wrapped around her waist, so the tunic wouldn't be pestering her during an upcoming battle. Long, black leggings hid her pale, hairless legs and also the copper coloured Go-go boots did the same job.

Yes, she sure got the meaning of keeping it down.

He faced Kakashi and smirked at his choice of appearance. The ladies in this town would surely divorce with their husbands as soon as they saw him walking past.

His dirty blond hair fell downwards, reaching his mid-chest, occasionally shadowing his blue eyes. The blue wasn't like his sky blue but the colour of an angry storm, waves crashing into each other violently. His skin, too, was a replica of his own, tanned, but instead of three whisker birthmarks on each side of his cheek, freckles decorated them.

His lean, muscular body was cloaked with a black, turtle neck shirt - just like the night sky - that had a small skull embarked onto his right shoulder blade- probably trying to scare of little children. He wore worn out camouflage patterned cargo trousers tucked away into a pair of army green combat boots which were of medium length.

Shizune wasn't much different than Tsunade, almost as if she was her sister. He shrugged; at least they already had one cover finished.

Shizune had the same honey brown hair as Tsunade but it was curly and hung around at her waist. It was tied into a French braid, so it wouldn't disturb her during the day. Her eyes through weren't, they were gray with hints of blue hidden underneath the plain colours, in few areas a dull green could be seen.

She wore persimmon orange, long sleeved mini dress with two slits cut up to her hips, perfectly presenting her robust but curvy figure. Her pale legs were masked by long, black leggings and, for her feet, she had on a pair of Go-go boots, the exact same as Tsunade, but were chocolate brown in colour.

They were all wearing the same warm cloak which was just swaying above the ground and were all aged somewhere in the mid-twenties.

Naruto wrapped the orange blanket around him tighter and beamed at his three comrades. "Perfect, what are your names?"

They looked at each other, chattering about different options and then eventually nodded in agreement and turned back to him, as if he were the leader or something.

"My name is Goto Eto Kame and my sister's name is Eto Rei and my husband is Goto Jiro over there," said Tsunade, firstly pointing at herself them letting her finger wander to Shizune's direction. "We are here to search for a perfect place to stay, nothing much, now your turn."

"Henge."

_Poof_

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and whistled, "Brat, how about you stay like this forever, you look fabulous!'

Naruto flushed and stared at her incredulously with his worry lines showing on his forehead, he wasn't used to people commenting on how he looked, even if this was just a fake appearance. What he was used to was people snarling at him, wanting to rip of his pretty face because they thought it was a mask, the Kyuubi hiding underneath.

He quickly mumbled a 'thanks' before hesitantly watching the reaction of his other two companions. Tsunade was an easy person to understand, mostly because she said a lot of things that where running through her mind and so was Shizune, even a blind man could know her emotions. He heard it from the tones of her wavering voice.

Kakashi saw him and send him a crooked smile. "Perfect," he said.

"Yeah, got to agree with you there Kakashi," said Shizune, grinning down at him. "But gosh, you are short."

Naruto had the same short and ruffled hair as before but now only auburn in colour while his cold gray eyes bored into everyone's eyes but it felt like he was looking right through them and at the distant forest. His eleven year old body was cubby, like all eleven year old bodies were but was already quite muscular- if you called it that. His olive skin was dotted with a mass of freckles which covered his face and arms.

He wore a pair of green cargo shorts and a simple black shirt, also the same cloak as them but in brown and with the hood down, again nothing too fancy. For his feet, he wore traditional gato shoes with the ribbon being in the colour of navy blue. Again, nothing too outstanding.

Two leather bracelets decorated each of his wrists, each having a wooden charm with a small delicate carving dangling of it.

"Let's go."

* * *

Back in Konoha, things weren't going as well as with the newly formed group of nuke-nin. It was already the fifteenth time that day Tsume had whined about a painful migraine hammering her skull while Shibi's eyebrows twitched for the eleventh time in a row, something very unlike him and two deep creases running across his forehead vertically.

The council huddled around the large, circular table standing in the centre of the room, along with Danzo and the two advisors, lines crossing each and everybody's foreheads as they tried to settle the problem.

Outside, various ANBU were guarding the place. They were all scattered in different areas, always different than the last meeting so no spy could work out their positions.

Anyone within the perimeter, marked by a red tape, was to be thrown into prison and would have to wait until a member permitted them free, but this rule only counted if there was a council meeting on.

The oval room was sound-prove proof and disturbingly small and boring. No pictures or even a decorative lamp hung from the ceiling, everything was polished and blank, painted in glossy white paint. The only interesting thing was the moth-eaten wooden desk standing in the centre of the room; molested by millions scratches - most of them were crowded around the Inuzuka seat.

The table had been standing here since the Shodai had built Konoha.

The room, for some unknown reason, was also missile proof. They didn't know why they needed a missile proof council room but it gave them some privacy during meetings like these.

Tsume rubbed her temples with her clawed thumb, drawing blood as she scratched herself to hard. "I can't believe that witch betrayed us, and how could she take her apprentice with her?" she asked no one in particular. She hissed through her teeth and then threw her head into her hands, her elbows on the table.

Blood dripped silently onto the table.

The council had been sitting in this room for days, only leaving the room to fill their rumbling stomachs or to return home early in the morning to receive even the slightest bit of sleep. The subject which was currently at hand was racing through their exhausted minds constantly, making them unable to shut their eyes for more than ten seconds.

"Tsunade never truly favored this village, we literally forced her to become Hokage," Choza stated. "But what I truly find it hard to believe is that Uzumaki Naruto has left the village directly after Uchiha Sasuke, do you believe that there is some kind of link there?"

Inoichi groaned. "All I ever heard from my daughter about this Naruto was how loud and obnoxious he was, but also that he was still unbelievably loyal to Konoha, always boasting about how he was going to become the future Hokage."

Shibi massaged his temples, analyzing their speeches. He opened his mouth but Shikaku beat him.

"How long do you think Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi and Naruto had been planning this?" asked Shikaku and sighed as he received baffled looks, and then quickly brushed through his tied up hair, continuing, "Four shinobi leaving at the same time, same day is either pure coincidence, which is not likely to happen or is planned out. They could have been planning this from the very beginning, who knows but what I know is that we should start searching for anything suspicious."

Chatter started to fill the small room; Danzo studied the council members carefully, though he avoided any eye contact. Only the advisors earned his threatening glances, promising death if they even dared to condemn him.

Hiashi eyed Danzo with skepticism, his frosty silver eyes boring into the man's head, searching for something suspicious but nothing caught his keen eyes, yet. Danzo turned his attention back to the rest of the council, scanning them with a blank expression masking his true intentions but a dim flare flashed through his eye gave him away.

No one noticed Hiashi spying on the one armed man because he had not once moved his head and, without any pupils in his eyes, it was impossible to know for sure in what direction he was staring at.

Hiashi narrowed his achromatic eyes as he studied the flaring eyes, but ignored it for now and turned his attention to the advisors, gritting his teeth as soon as he saw their postures.

Their old bodies were tense with their shoulders high up, hiding their heads in between them. They had more wrinkles than ever, zigzagging to one side to the other horizontally.

Even through their bodies were motionless, their eyes were edgy. Koharu never looked at something for more than a second and Himaru wasn't much better as his grey eyes circled the room repeatedly

They were hiding something.

He inhaled through his teeth and turned back to the conversation, nodding at Shibi and ShizukaShikaku, confirming the questioning stares he was receiving. He had to admit, no one could hide anything from the Nara, due to his brains and from the Aburame, due to his bug colony.

Anyone would be lucky if their secret stayed a secret for more than an hour.

Shikaku tapped his fingers on the table; a habit of his he did when he was either irritated or angry, well at least for those who didn't know _it_, and then scratched his head with his other hand.

Inoichi groaned blatantly, earning a few curious glances but he was soon dismissed- it wasn't the first time he had done this that day.

His finger poked his forehead and he massaged the spot roughly. Gosh, couldn't his day become any worse? His eyes followed Shikaku's fingers raise and land repeatedly on the table while decoding the rhythmic language at the same time.

Choza chattered with Hiashi but kept his ears fixed sharply on the tapping, now the only problem would be informing Tsume about this juicy information, it was a pain that the Inuzuka couldn't read their language.

The Ino-Shika-Cho team had created the sign language while they had still been Genins, not wanting their parents to understand them while they were talking- or tapping, through they eventually figured it out somehow. Now they used it for greater use, they mostly used it for information gatherings. Inoichi did the info gathering and the tapping while Shikaku listened and repeated them word for word to Choza, who wrote them down.

It was a very convenient way of info gathering.

But there was always a negative side to everything. During their Genin days, they made a blood oath, each cutting both of their palms and the holding each others hands while allowing their blood. They had also exchange a third of their chakra to each.

It felt as if oil, boiling hot oil, was poured down upon you in slow motion, every drop of the dark liquid filling up even the tiniest creases of your body, melting you into a blob of red goo.

They couldn't even scream during the process through it would have only made matters worse if anyone heard them.

But there was always a good outcome; they could hear each other for miles by just whispering something under their breaths. The Hokage had described them as one in three. One soul but three bodies.

Unluckily, they could sometimes even hear each others thoughts but it was impossible to control. It usually activated during emotional or urgent episodes but it was very irritating when they were angry and wanted to be alone.

Tsume added another addition to the scratches crisscrossing the table - the poor, innocent table. "I can't believe they left us? I mean, how are we going to deal with the publicity!?"

No one answered her but they were all pondering over what she had just said.

Danzo swallowed his smug smile, those idiots; they would never guess it was him who banished Naruto if they carried on at this rate, a plus for him.

Oh, if only he knew how wrong he was…

Through the only thing which disturbed him was the betrayal of Tsunade, Kakashi and Shizune. Three of the strongest shinobi had left the village, leaving it in the open for war, although he enjoyed gore and violence he loathed to lose his people.

Hiashi continued spying Danzo as the man opened his wide mouth, those perfectly pronounced words flowing out of them with ease.

"Tsume, relax, we'll just tell them a lies. Tsunade had gotten an important note from her former friend and had to leave immediately, taking her apprentice with her while Kakashi and Naruto were killed during a mission, the betrayal of Uchiha Sasuke will remain confidential," he said, leaving no space for arguments. "The only problem that leaves us with is who is going to be promoted as Hokage?"

Himaru opened his mouth. "I believe we should promote Jiraiya as Hokage," he said, receiving agreeing nods. If he couldn't condemn Danzo, he could at least block him from rising in rank, he was still an advisor.

And he was pretty sure the other member had already put Danzo, and probably him and Koharu, under suspicion.

The chatter began to fill the room again as the members of the council started to converse amongst each other, voicing their opinions. Many nodded while others shook their head in disagreement, much to Danzo's glee, until Miki held up her hand.

"We should vote, whoever is for that Jiraiya-sama gets promoted to Hokage, raise their hands," she said, raising her own slender hand, her nails varnished with transparent nail polish.

Hara Miki was the strongest woman sitting around the table of councils. She didn't belong to any of the major clans, to be specific; she was only a civilian but her vast knowledge of the shinobi world and her immense leadership skills came to use at complicated times, actually all the time.

She was the only civilian on the council, through everyone knew she had some nasty tricks up her loose sleeves which no one should be fooling around with. Only those with a death wish tried.

Miki's past, or even she herself, was a mystery to everyone, she was very private even through she was awfully kind and cooperative, but only then when she agreed to a certain idea. If anyone wouldn't agree with her or she didn't agree to the idea then she would quarrel with anyone who stood in her way and wouldn't stop arguing until she got her will through and made them change their mind.

She never lost; if she did, hell had frozen over.

And her choices were always correct anyway, so there was no use standing up against her. Although it had been quiet different at the beginning of her career as councilor.

She had been just another civilian for their eyes back then, nothing more than a scrub of dirt.

They had treated her as a weakling, insulted her and brushed her away, ignoring every word she said; only Sarutobi had acknowledged her wise- unheard- decisions and soon promoted her to his personal assistant, forcing the rest listen to her speeches.

Eventually, they accepted her and found out very quickly of her impossible stubbornness.

Even after Sarutobi's death, Tsunade had found her especially useful in making decisions, her own weakness. Better to get advice from those who are actually good at gambling.

As said before, Miki's past is a mystery but everyone in Konoha knew she had a younger sister working at the hospital.

Her sister was just as kind as her but less social, always avoided large crowds and attention, but no one really cared; they just loved her. Many people loved it when they got her as their nurse; her soothing words always lessened the pain the patient was in and they could tell her anything beacuse she wouldn't judge them.

Nevertheless, their appearances were frightening whilst breathtaking as well.

Their eyes were violet and their skin just so… amazing, this was an understatement.

Every hand rose into the air in the room, except Danzo's whose lay motionlessly next to his chest while his other arms, or limb, hung loosely by his side, wrapped tightly in bandages.

"Please do tell your point of view Danzo-san, why do you choose to oppose Himaru's intelligent decision?" Miki smiled at him but her smooth, unrealistic voice echoed back to them as soon as it reached the walls.

"Jiraiya will reject the offer, actually, I also believe he will soon leave Konoha too," Danzo watched Miki's smile falter into a grim frown; a smug smirk crossed in his face.

"If Jiraiya did desert Konoha, who would you chose to become the Hokage?" questioned Miki, sweet acid tingling of her harmless words and her eyes flickering with various unreadable emotions. She smiled, her diamond teeth glittering, as Danzo's smirk dropped and formed into a smile, not a sincere one but a harmful, venomous smile.

Miki adored competition, she could even say she was born to love challenges, through most were either plain boring or useless. Competing against someone to achieve sinful prices or for the wrong purpose was out of her book.

Her mother always used to tell her a story of a small boy who was also as competitive as her but later on in his life, he began to use his strength for evil will, in the end he was assassinated for becoming to powerful. He could have fought back but he himself regretted it due to what he had caused this world.

And Danzo just reminded her of the little boy who became a monstrous demon in human form.

"Me," he said boldly, causing a councilor to start choking on his own saliva. "I believe I have the strength to be the next Hokage."

Tsume snorted. She couldn't belief her usually very sensitive ears but was this guy still ticking correctly? His mother probably dropped him while he was still a babe. Seriously, a Genin would do a better job at ruling Konoha.

If he couldn't even walk on his own without the help of his wooden walking stick, then how was he going to fight when Konoha was in need? He'd most likely run away and not return until the danger was over, leaving half of Konoha destroyed.

Tsume knew this, if Danzo was ever going to become Hokage she would spit loudly into his face and leave this village in order to and will trail Tsunade till the end of the world, until she found the woman, and then join her. She was not going to be in a village ruled by some old lunatic!

Choza shook his head, along with Inoichi and Shikaku. Shibi narrowed his eyes whilst Hiashi hissed faintly through his teeth. A few others had their faces covered by frowns but only Miki stayed indifferent, the same acid smile still gracing her lips crimson lips.

This meant trouble.

"Danzo, I want you answer me truthfully," Miki crossed her arms and smirked across at the man. Her luminous violet eyes glinted with mischief.

Danzo tensed and glared at the woman, the faultless lady. "Depends on what you ask of me," he snarled, his eyes narrowed into tiny slits.

Miki's smirked widened into a sweet smile, sarcasm dripping of her flat forehead. "No offense or anything but don't you think you'll frighten the civilians and shinobi alike away with a face as hideous as yours?"

Okay, she needed to get her ears checked. Tsume clapped her hands over her mouth before the loud laughter left it, tears of amusement streaming out of the corners of her eyes as she watched Danzo's baffled expression turn into a furious one.

Gosh, Miki just got another point in her respect bar; Tsume was so going to ask her for a few insults as soon as they got out of this place.

Koharu bit her lower lip till it bled, the bees in her stomach making loops while buzzing loudly, or laughing in other words. The only other person who had stood up against Danzo had been the Yondaime; she really missed those days when at least someone kept this man in check.

Danzo's mouth opened but, before anything could leave it, Miki jumped up from her chair and stretched herself. "Alright, the only thing left now is to ask Jiraiya-san to become Hokage, a task which I am going to fulfill. Let's hope that he accepts the offer, if not we'll have to ask someone else but not Danzo-san over there," she said, pointing at the man with her thumb. "This meeting is officially finished."

Everyone clapped and cheered, patting each others backs. The meeting was finally finished after an endless row of days of sitting. They all hurried back to their respective homes, ready to greet their children and families again, also the warm rays of the afternoon sun filtering through the clouds.

But no one noticed the small toad hopping soundlessly out of the room.

* * *

Sakura wonder through the hospital corridors, desperately searching for the name tag with 'Uzumaki Naruto' written on it. She frowned loudly as she brushed through her pink hair; she had searched the whole building twice already and not just that, but the Academy and his apartment but with no luck.

It had been three days since Sasuke's retrieval but Naruto still couldn't be found anywhere, oh yes, she knew where Sasuke was. He was brooding in one of the million and one hospital rooms, both alive and healthy, except if you counted the countless of colourful scars adorning his pale figure.

Scars which were created by her idiot, her Naruto.

She shouldn't really call him hers but Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei were her boys and no one could change that fact. Yes, Kakashi was a decade older than her but she could have careless if you ask her. He too was just another lost person on earth who needed a family.

Naruto and Kakashi had disappeared from the face of the earth, not just them but also Shizune and Tsunade. Not a sign of those four anywhere.

Sakura wanted to scream and cry her eyes out until the tears were all dried up, but she didn't want to cry alone, she wanted to do it on someone's shoulder, someone to comfort her at the very least.

Sakura clasped her cheeks, she sounded so selfish. Why should she bother someone else with her problems? She bobbed herself on the head and then shook away the pain, carrying on with her search.

Usually at this hour, Shizune would have hurried up and down the corridors, pushing around tray packed with either medicine or food for the patients but there was none such thing occurring today, or the past two days either.

Sakura knew she wasn't the only one worried sick. Every time she saw the Toad Sannin, what was his name… ahh… Jiraiya, he was as stiff as a tree. He usually fiddled with the hem of his shirt and was biting his bottom lip until it bled. He, too, sensed that something was off.

The village was too silent; no shouting could be heard in the morning coming from angry chunin, trying to catch Naruto who pulled off a prank again. No snoring or frustrated groans were heard coming from the Hokage's office when someone stepped near it. No irritating man appearing out of no where with an orange book in his hand and no alarming screeching echoing down the hospital corridors when Tsunade did something wrong, again.

A nurse passed her and smiled at her in acknowledgement, her teeth blazing in the sunlight peering through the windows rowing down the hallway. "Sorry Sakura-san, I still haven't heard anything about Naruto-kun," she said, her soft and calming tone washing over her panicked emotions.

Sakura's hope stepped deeper into the drawer it had walked into the past few days, and her truth pushed the drawer in a little more than it already was. She smiled in dismay. "Thank you for your help Hiru-san but you don't need to do so," she insisted.

Hiru shook her head, her hair swaying along with her movements. "No, no Sakura-san. I insist; this is as much as I can help you."

Sakura was about to answer but Hiru walked swiftly towards a door, as if she was afraid of the answer, her legs moving in front of one another gracefully and opened the door, before smiling at her and letting the door fall back into its place silently.

Sakura shook hair head and smiled a one dimpled smile.

Hiru was one that helped her search for Kakashi and Naruto on the second day, but gave up after the first try. Though Hiru was still looking over the files of recent patients that had been at the hospital hoping to help Sakura in some way, there was none such luck. She promised Sakura that if she ever heard anything about Naruto or Kakashi she would inform her immediately.

Hiru was a sweet and reliable nineteen year old woman. Her wavy, chocolate brown hair reached her waist, hanging down loosely. Her eyes were always filled with compassion even though they were a luminous violet colour.

She was so alike her sister, the only civilian council member.

The most fascinating thing about her was her skin. Sakura had never seen such perfect skin in her entire life. It wasn't nothing like Hiru's hair, soft and warm, but stone hard and a shiver raced down her back every time Hiru touched her. No human had such a frosty skin temperature; it was as if it was covered by a thin film of ice.

Somehow, Sakura could still feel her heart pumping at a comfortable rate the blood under the thick layers of her smooth, frosty skin.

Although her older sister's skin was literally ice, Miki's - Hiru's older sister - cheeks wouldn't flush during stressful times, like Hiru's would. Her cheeks would light up only slightly, but at least there was something human to her.

Miki was just… yeah.

Their skin wasn't the only amazing thing about them, maybe slightly frightening. They both had two rows, one bottom one top, of perfect, glimmering white teeth.

This was something the two sisters had in common.

There was a rumor that Hiru was a vampire in disguise, killing her patients one by one but that was random nonsense some idiot had made up because she or he envied her beauty.

But why Hiru's parents had called her leech was another mystery, though Sakura couldn't care less about what they had been thinking. At least her older sister earned a more suitable name for herself.

She walked on down the corridor towards Sasuke's private room. She almost imagined Kakashi sitting by his bedside whilst Naruto was bickering with him but that was just her imagination. This was her harsh truth.

Sasuke looked up from the leather bound book he was reading; staring at her with his ebony eyes in hope, she wasn't really sure but his eyes reflected some unknown emotion but she was positive that they had looked different before his defection.

Now they were more relaxed, lighter than before. He didn't glare at her as if she was a disease but looked at her, his expression softened, but he never smiled.

She was working on that.

Sakura's crush died the minute Sasuke had stepped out of the village. She accepted her bitter reality; Sasuke was never going to fall in love with her, and it was very unlikely if he ever did. Now she simply wanted him to accept her as a friend, like he did with Naruto in a strange method.

Yeah, she admitted Sasuke was hot but she was human and humans did check each other out, no one could deny it however much they wanted to.

"Did you find them?" a simple question, but then why was it so complicated to answer this simple, innocent question.

Sakura clenched her hands into fists and strung her lips into a thin line, her face pale as a sheet, and shook her head,"No." She heard Sasuke hiss faintly, "Not a sign of those two." _Or four._ She silently added. Sakura didn't want Sasuke worrying about Tsunade and Shizune as well.

A harsh scowl formed on Sasuke's face, his eyebrows creased together in… was it concern or was it just the annoyance for her foolish attempt of search?

"Okay," he muttered, and turned back to his book, taking in the contents which seemed rather interesting- she had never seen Sasuke read anything else other than scrolls or fact books.

She settled down onto the chair next to his bedside and laid her head onto the bed exhausted. She raised her eyes and red the books title: _Melody of the Forgotten_. Sounded interesting but Sasuke was reading it so intensely. A book which didn't really seem his type, she was sure it was a fantasy book.

She eyed the illustration and gasped in fascination as soon as she saw it, forgetting Naruto and Kakashi for the moment. The unique scene was singing to her silently, hypnotizing her.

A forest grew in the centre of the illustration. Nothing like Konoha, bright and fresh but nostalgic and ancient.

The trees grew up into the sky, the tree roots swirling around in the soil at the bottom. Just behind them was a border of enormous mountains, cutting into the foggy sky. The grey rock melted into snow the higher the mountains were.

In front of the forest was a wide meadow spreading with blood red poppies sprouting between the dark green grass, very long grass too.

And just in front of the meadow, a river rushed across the page. The muddy liquid was so dark the colour was almost black but no water is black, correct?

She could literally see the strong currents battling against each other, having a civil war with opponents. It was obvious the river didn't flow in one direction, like rivers were supposed to, but this was a fantasy book; anything could happen.

_Storm,_ her inner Sakura commented while nodding appealingly at the cover. Sakura agreed with her, her inner self had taken the words right out of her mouth.

With their backs facing the reader, four lone figures stood tensely at the front, as if waiting for something horrible to happen and stared at the view. They were holding each other's hands tightly, two males and two females.

The shortest also the youngest stood further at front, his three comrades not far behind him. His hair was short, the brown bundle messed up.

_Like Naruto's if only it was blond._ Sakura noted. _And his body is way to mature for Naruto._

The boy had his hand in the other- and older- male's hand, standing closely to him as if protecting the older from the unknown upcoming danger whilst he had his other hand in the tallest female of the group, taller than the older man.

Darn was she tall, probably two meters if she actually existed in real life. Her honey brown hair hung loosely down her back. Why did this honey brown colour remind her so much of Tsunade's eyes?

And, whoa-ho, was she pretty.

She wasn't looking at the scenery like the two males, but was looking down at the small boy with hazel affectionate eyes; Sakura could make out dark circles outlining her eyes, she seriously needed a good rest.

The man's blond hair was blown back by the invisible wind rushing past them in the picture. His hand was embarked tightly with the youngest while his eyes studied the mountains, trees and the meadow.

The last person, the shortest of the three adults in the group, was holding onto the tallest tightly, looking at the side with wide frightened eyes.

Her honey brown hair, similar to the tallest, was curly and was slightly longer than the other. It was tied into a French Braid without much care, most likely they were in a hurry.

Sakura gawked at the illustration. No wonder Sasuke chose this book, the cover literally spoke to her. If she would have been in a shop she would have bought even if she was unconscious, although she wouldn't know how to.

She led her attention from the cover to Sasuke's pale hand holding the book, thinking back of Hiru's and Miki's frosty skin, and examined every crease and scar in them. They weren't as perfect as she had always imagined them but then again, back then she was just another pathetic fan girl.

Sakura didn't notice she stretched her arm out to touch the hand.

Sasuke flinched at the sudden warm impact of human skin and stared up from his page onto Sakura's hand, which were brushing over the back of his hand softly; her thumb slowly searching through every miniature scar of his that decorated it.

"So warm," she breathed, and then blushed as she faced him abruptly before pulling back her hand to bury her heated face into them in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Is there something wrong with my hand Sakura?" Sasuke questioned, inspecting the hand Sakura had just petted and a frown implanted on his lips as he turned his attention back to her.

Was she becoming one of _them_?

Sakura shook her head, which was still in her hands. "Well, uh, it's just Hiru-san's skin is so pale, paler than yours and always so… cold, stone cold so I though… well that maybe… your skin was the same or similar but it's totally the opposite, yeah," she mumbled, her head the same colour as if it had been thrown into a bowl of mashed tomatoes.

His mouth twitched into a smirk. Sakura could be so crazy at times and it was always amusing how she handled humiliating situations.

Sakura's head shot up to look at the window, which was wide open, as a cool breeze blew through the room. Her ears picked up hushed chatter and giggling coming from the outside, and saw a swarm of girls crowding around the entrance of the hospital, each holding presents of any sort in their hands, when she looked out of the window. She scowled, had she really been like that?

_Yeah, sadly._ Her inner self shook her head and sighed.

The girls glared at her scornfully, obviously jealous of her being in the same room as the Uchiha Sasuke. How they had found out that this is his room was another mystery to her.

"What are you doing in Sasuke-kun's room you fre-," a girl had screeched before she was cut of by the loud sound of a slamming window.

Noisy complains were heard not soon after the slamming.

"Fan girls, am I correct?"

Sakura snorted but soon laughed merrily as she pulled the white satin curtains together, hiding the view of any shinobi fan girls which could climb the shiny hospital walls. "How did you guess?"

He rolled his eyes. "I have lived with them since the day of my birth, I think it is pretty easy to know what a fan girl is and what a normal girl is," he said, "I am so lucky that my teammate isn't one of them anymore."

A grin arose on Sakura's oval face as she heard what Sasuke said, but she flushed and quickly looked down at the floor in shame. "Sorry about that, I shouldn't have stalked you and stuff. What's the book about?" she quickly changed the subject.

"It's indescribable," Sasuke looked down at the book and smiled, brushing his fingers over the rough texture cover. "The best you can do is read it for yourself, I'm nearly finished. I could lend it to you," he suggested.

"Alright!"

The bright atmosphere tensed again by every step Sakura took nearer to the bed, and then lowered herself into the chair again.

"Do you think we'll ever find Naruto and Kakashi-sensei again," there was a sort pause, "Sakura?"

* * *

On the same day - or night, two lone figures stood on the roof of a house near the large gates, each of them wearing a cloak, maybe brown, maybe black, so it was impossible to see in the darkness.

Only a few people were rushing through the deserted streets, hoping to arrive at their homes soon not wanting to stay any longer in the eye of the night.

Once, a cat scurried across the street, which had been, for some strange reason, the Daimyo's cat.

The two figures hugged each other tightly, as if it was the last time they would ever see each other again, while the fresh breeze blew past them.

"I'll miss you," the tallest one whispered, the other one nodding wordlessly.

"Me too, send me a message every month about the newest gossip, will you?" the other one released the hug.

"Alright, I'll send you every _gossip_," the tallest patted the short ones' back, a cool breeze blowing past them once again. "Help them and bring them to safety."

"I will I promise, I hope I'll see you soon."

"I hope I'll see you soon too my little Angel, oh and good luck."

"Thank you," there was not a trace of the other one, as if she -or he - had never existed.

The tallest followed soon afterwards.

* * *

**1.** Kyuuketsuki- Japanese term for vampire

**Thank you for reading. I will be rewriting the first chapter again. Although it won't be betaed, I believe it will be in a much better condition as it is now and I hope you agree with me and the same goes for Queen of Bijuu- these will be betaed.**


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